Pages

Thursday, November 13, 2014

BTW, because I have been extremely busy these past few days, there will not be another article posted on Saturday. I apologize for this. Having said that, onto the usual shenanigans.

0:00:00 Introductions
And you get a glimpse of what it's like behind the curtain.

0:01:55 Viewer Questions
From our usual source:

"Why do so many people seem to hate Skyward Sword?"
Like I said during the cast, my opinion on the matter is purely a matter of speculation. Having said that, what I strongly suspect was the case is that the new style of play greatly affected the design.
It's a problem you see in games like Deus Ex and Dishonored. Since the design can't assume that you have certain items in your inventory (because you may or may not have any given item), it needs to be theoretically possible to beat without using any of the equipment they may or may not have obtained. They can be used to make your task easier, but it must still be possible to complete it without any of that optional equipment. Previous Zelda games make players feel like they are building their character's power over time. With this type of design, that is much more difficult to pull off.
Of course, other issues like unresponsive controls and an annoying side character would also be contributing factors, but I would posit the fundamental change in game design is the primary reason.

"Did any of you guys read Shonen Jump back in the day?"
Of man, I wish Sam was present for this discussion. He would be able to provide a more interesting conversation than either me or Garrett.

0:11:45 Chris brings up Dawngate (and its cancellation)
Though I would hardly call myself an expert, I can hardly call this surprising. The MOBA space is super competitive, and you need to make yourself stand out if you want to do well.
For the record, the incomprehensible blurb that came out of my mic was me jokingly referencing The Old Republic.

Then, we start talking about MOBAs in general. And the call dropped in the middle of our conversation.

0:23:20 Chris beings up Blizzard's new shooter, Overwatch.
After you get over the initial wave of "THIS GAME LOOKS AWESOME!", and you stop to analyze it, you wonder how good this game will be.
Blizzard has never made a shooter before. Further, this is a multiplayer-only, character-based shooter. Beyond that, the last game with such a colorful-looking initial trailer was Overstrike, aka FUSE.
This could do well, but on paper it looks like it's almost destined to fail, once you get passed the initial shock. On the other hand, Blizzard has a proven record for turning anything into a gold mine. I will be interested in how it develops over time.

0:33:30 Garrett plays Neotokyo.
Which sounds like a very fascinating Source mod. Unfortunately, I cannot comment any further.
And of course, ANOTHER Destiny reference. We're the best Destiny podcast on the interested.

0:46:00 Garrett has been getting into SMITE
And talks about how it blatantly steals from League.
Then, we discuss Adam Sandler movies. I'm not sure why.

0:56:05 I have been playing more Shin Megami Tensei IV.
And I have gotten to the point where the difficulty curve begins to level out. SMT fans know about this point, but I explained it a lot here.
I didn't say this during the cast, but I think part of why I have been enjoying the side-quests is because the game does a great job of making them available and easy to access. All you need to do is drop by a tavern every once in a while to see what's come up on the bulletin board.

0:59:50 I have been playing Binding of Issac: Rebirth
It is a major improvement over the base game in so many little ways that I really recommend it to anyone who played the original. There's also so much more content added to the game that the higher price is justified. No matter which system you get it for (PC, PS4, or Vita), you will definitely be getting your money's worth.
Having said that, it is not a game for everyone. If the old game wasn't great for you, this probably won't change your mind unless your issues were mostly technical in nature.

1:12:45 I played my first game of One Night Ultimate Werewolf.
For those who want to know more, you can watch Table Flip play the game here.

1:15:50 Chris has played more Hyrule Warriors
And we didn't talk much about it because Sam was absent.

1:18:45 Chris bought a copy of Dante's Inferno.
And I apologize to him on his behalf. No one should be subjected to that game.
On the positive side, it made the title for this episode very, very obvious. (I still think "Satan's Dick and Tongue Nipples" should have been the title, but we still chose very well.)

1:31:20 Wrapping Up
Yep.
Remember, send us stuff at TheTexturePop@gmail.com if you want us to talk about you on the air.